Modern Family is hands down my favorite show (thanks to my boo Carol for putting me on!), so I care more than the average person that one of its stars is going through a rough time right now. 14-year-old Ariel Winter plays the “nerd” daughter Alex Dunphy, and while she has a great family on the show, the same can’t be said about her real life. A judge has had to remove her from the care of her mother, after some serious allegations of both physical and mental abuse. A report that Ariel just wanted to be emancipated from her mother just to be with her boyfriend turned out to be false, further backed up by the fact that her older sister Shanelle (who she’s now in the custody of) went through the same circumstances about 20 years ago. So sad. More details below. Hopefully this doesn’t affect her in the long run. Things like this can be so mentally damaging on young children…

On October 3rd, after a guardianship hearing, a judge determined the allegations that Ariel was being physically and emotionally abused by her mother Crystal Workman were serious enough that the judge placed Ariel in a temporary guardianship with her older sister Shanelle Workman. Our sources tell us … mama Crystal was ordered to stay 100 yards away from Ariel.

As far as Shanelle’s situation:

Nearly two decades ago, the Department of Children and Family Services removed her from Crystal’s home based on similar abuse allegations. Law enforcement sources tell us … D.C.F.S. placed Shanelle in foster care for more than 2 years. She never went back to her mother.

The family will return to court for another hearing for November 20th.